The world in 1000
In 1000, the timeline shows 140 states, empires and colonies and 134 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Republic of Venice, Byzantine Empire, Ghana Empire (Wagadu), Holy Roman Empire, Swahili city-states, Srivijaya, Khmer Empire and Tiwanaku.
See 1000 on the interactive chart
Previous: 800 The whole 10th century Next: 1066
What was happening around 1000
- Erik the Red settles Greenland, North America. About 14 ships of Icelandic settlers reach southwest Greenland and found the Eastern Settlement.
- Baptism of the Rus, Europe. Vladimir I of Kiev adopts Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium and has the people of Kiev baptised in the Dnieper.
- Norse reach Vinland, North America. Leif Erikson lands in Vinland around 1000, nearly five centuries before Columbus and Cabot. Norse buildings found at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland in 1960 proved the Norse had reached North America.
- Polynesians settle East Polynesia, Oceania. After the long pause in Tonga and Samoa, voyagers settle the Cook, Society and Marquesas islands between about 1000 and 1150, then Hawaii, Rapa Nui and New Zealand between about 1200 and 1300.
- Mahmud of Ghazni sacks Somnath, South Asia. Mahmud's army plunders the temple of Somnath in Gujarat during one of his seventeen invasions of India.
- Chola fleet raids Srivijaya, South Asia. Rajendra Chola launches naval invasions of Srivijaya, sacking its capital Palembang and attacking other places in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, a campaign described as unique in India's history.
- Chola raid on Srivijaya, Southeast Asia. Rajendra I's fleet from south India sacks Palembang, Kedah and other Srivijayan ports, breaking Srivijaya's hold on the straits.
Central and Southern Africa
- Eastern Bantu-speaking farmers
- Western Bantu-speaking farmers
- Swahili city-states
- Central African forest foragers
- San hunter-gatherers
- Khoisan hunter-gatherers
- Khoekhoe herders
- Bantu farmers of the Congo basin
- Iron Age farmers of South Africa
- Iron Age farmers of the Zambezi
- Austronesian settlers of Madagascar
- Kilwa Sultanate
- East African hunter-gatherers
- Malagasy chiefdoms and trading towns
- Kisalian culture
- Ntusi and Bigo culture
North and West Africa
- Ghana Empire (Wagadu)
- Fatimid Caliphate
- Makuria
- Kanem Empire
- Ife
- Medjay, Blemmyes and Beja nomads
- Cushitic-speaking peoples
- Sahelian cereal farmers
- West African yam and oil palm farmers
- Amazigh (Berber) tribes
- Sao culture
- Coptic Christians
- Saharan camel nomads (Sanhaja and Tuareg)
- Jenne-Jeno (Middle Niger towns)
- Chadic-speaking farmers
- Kingdom of Nri
- Alodia
- Hausa city-states
- Kwararafa
- Takrur
- Kingdom of Gao
- Sultanate of Shewa
- Barghawata
- Emirate of Nekor
- Igbo-Ukwu
- Zirids
Europe
- Republic of Venice
- Byzantine Empire
- Holy Roman Empire
- Kievan Rus
- Viking Age Norse
- Gaelic Ireland
- Papal States
- Kingdom of Scotland
- Kingdom of Hungary
- Kingdom of Norway
- Kingdom of Denmark
- Kingdom of Sweden
- Kingdom of France (Capetian)
- First Bulgarian Empire
- Kingdom of Castile
- Kingdom of England (Anglo-Saxon)
- Caliphate of Cordoba
- Sami people
- Basques
- Baltic Finnic tribes
- Baltic tribes
- Volga Finnic peoples
- County of Flanders
- Duchy of Lorraine
- Kingdom of Gwynedd
- Kingdom of Powys
- Kingdom of Navarre
- Kingdom and Duchy of Brittany
- West Slavic tribes
- Earldom of Orkney
- Kingdom of Strathclyde
- Duchy and Principality of Benevento
- County of Toulouse
- Republic of Pisa
- Volga Bulgaria
- Icelandic Commonwealth
- Duchy of Bohemia
- Kingdom of Leon
- Norse Kingdom of Dublin
- Duchy of Normandy
- County of Barcelona
- County of Portugal
- Emirate of Sicily
- Pechenegs
- Kingdom of Croatia
- Catepanate of Italy
- Principality of Hungary
- Duchy of Poland
Middle East
- Byzantine Empire
- Abbasid Caliphate
- Zaydi Imamate of Yemen
- Bagratid Armenia
- Buyids
- Arab Bedouin tribes
- Kurdish tribes and emirates
- Sharifate of Mecca
- Bavandids
- Shirvanshahs
- Ibadi Imamate of Oman
- Emirate of Tbilisi
- Alania
- Shaddadids
- Kingdom of Abkhazia
- Tao-Klarjeti
- Qarmatians of Bahrain
- Ziyarids
- Saffarids
- Fatimid Syria and Palestine
- Hamdanids
- Kingdom of Vaspurakan
- Uqaylids
- Marwanids
South Asia
- Chola Empire
- Anuradhapura Kingdom
- Pala Empire
- Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty
- Western Chalukyas
- Ghaznavid Empire
- Munda-speaking peoples
- Tibeto-Burman hill peoples
- Vedda people
- Eastern Iranian peoples
- Kingdom of Mewar
- Pashtun tribes
- Kamarupa
- Western Ganga dynasty
- Chahamanas of Shakambhari
- Chandela dynasty
- Eastern Chalukyas
- Paramara dynasty
- Thakuri dynasty
- Arab Sindh
- Chaulukya dynasty
- Chera Perumals of Makotai
- Hindu Shahis
Central and North Asia
- Kingdom of Khotan
- Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho
- Kara-Khanid Khanate
- Liao dynasty
- Hunter-fishers of western Siberia
- Yukaghir peoples
- Chukchi, Koryak and Itelmen peoples
- Evenki and Even reindeer herders
- Khanty, Mansi and Samoyedic peoples
- Okhotsk culture
- Yenisei Kyrgyz
- Punuk culture
- Kurykans
- Oghuz Yabgu State
- Kimek Khaganate
- Kereit, Naiman, Tatar and Merkit tribes
East Asia
- Northern Song
- Goryeo
- Heian period
- Liao dynasty
- Formosan Austronesian peoples
- Qiang peoples
- Jurchen tribes
- Guge kingdom
- Satsumon culture
- Tibetan era of fragmentation
- Dali Kingdom
- Guiyi Prefecture
- Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom
Southeast Asia
- Srivijaya
- Khmer Empire
- Champa
- Pyu city-states
- Dvaravati
- Pagan Kingdom
- Medang Kingdom (Mataram)
- Philippine Negrito foragers
- Orang Asli (Semang and Senoi)
- Dayak peoples of Borneo
- Plain of Jars culture
- Langkasuka
- Kutai Martadipura
- Lavo Kingdom
- Tondo
- Barangay chiefdoms
- Sunda Kingdom
- Haripunjaya
- Tai muang chiefdoms
- Thaton Kingdom
- Early Le dynasty
North America
- Mississippian culture
- Thule culture
- Ancestral Puebloans
- Dorset culture
- Pacific Northwest peoples
- Mogollon culture
- Hohokam
- Norse Greenland
- Chaco Canyon (Chacoan system)
- Norse Vinland base (L'Anse aux Meadows)
- Unangan (Aleut) peoples
- Northern Archaic tradition
- Dene (Northern Athabaskan) peoples
- Belle Glade culture
- Caloosahatchee culture
- Woodland period cultures
- Chumash
- California peoples (Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, Tongva)
- Laurel complex
- Fremont culture
- Caddo confederacies
- Cree peoples
- Numic peoples (Shoshone, Paiute, Ute)
- Plains Village tradition
- Fort Ancient culture
- Oneota culture
- Birnirk culture
- Coles Creek culture
- Mimbres
Mesoamerica and Caribbean
- Chibchan chiefdoms (Costa Rica and Panama)
- Mixtec kingdoms
- Chichen Itza
- Toltec state (Tula)
- Gran Coclé chiefdoms
- Guayabo de Turrialba
- Greater Nicoya cultures
- Cholula
- Chalchihuites culture
- La Quemada
- Diquís culture
- Lucayan Taíno
- Trincheras tradition
- Chichimeca peoples
- Zapotec city-states (Zaachila, Mitla)
- Huastec (Teenek) peoples
- El Tajín (Classic Veracruz)
- Ostionoid culture
- Puuc cities (Uxmal)
South America
- Tiwanaku
- Tupi-Guarani peoples
- Mapuche
- Marajoara culture
- Muisca Confederation
- Chimú kingdom (Chimor)
- Wari Empire
- Fuegian canoe peoples (Yaghan, Kawésqar)
- Sambaqui shell-mound builders
- Jê peoples
- Patagonian peoples (Tehuelche, Selk'nam)
- Zenú culture
- Tairona
- Quimbaya culture
- Arawakan peoples of the Amazon
- Carib peoples of the Guianas
- Guaraní
- Charrúa
- Manteño-Huancavilca culture
- Chachapoya culture
- Diaguita
- Santarém culture (Tapajó)
- Sicán (Lambayeque)
- Cañari
- Chincha kingdom
- Chancay culture
Oceania
- Aboriginal Australian peoples
- Papuan farmers and foragers
- Kuk Swamp agriculture
- Ancestral Polynesian society
- Tu'i Tonga Empire
- Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples
- Uninhabited
- Uninhabited
- Torres Strait Islanders
- Island Melanesian societies
- Fijian chiefdoms
- Eastern Micronesian islanders
- Samoan chiefdoms
- Society Islands chiefdoms
- Latte period Chamorro
Questions
What countries existed in 1000?
The timeline shows 140 states, empires and colonies alive in 1000. Among the most significant: Republic of Venice, Byzantine Empire, Ghana Empire (Wagadu), Holy Roman Empire, Swahili city-states, Srivijaya, Khmer Empire and Tiwanaku. The full list by region is on this page.
What was happening in the world in 1000?
Within 25 years of 1000, the timeline records Erik the Red settles Greenland (985), Baptism of the Rus (988), Norse reach Vinland (1000), Polynesians settle East Polynesia (1000), Mahmud of Ghazni sacks Somnath (1025) and Chola fleet raids Srivijaya (1025).
Which empires existed in 1000?
Byzantine Empire, Ghana Empire (Wagadu), Holy Roman Empire, Srivijaya, Khmer Empire, Abbasid Caliphate, Chola Empire, Fatimid Caliphate, Northern Song and Tu'i Tonga Empire.
Where do these dates come from?
Each row's dates were checked against the sources listed on that row's own page, mostly English Wikipedia articles, which cite the underlying scholarship. Dates that are uncertain are marked c.